The bbc faces chaos in its newsrooms just as it goes head to head with the return of ITV's News at Ten.

A studio in London is being closed for 10 weeks for renovation in January - meaning all news shows will have to be done in a single room.

Instead of the usual three hours for Newsnight to prepare their set, engineers will have just seven minutes to scurry around after the 10pm news on BBC1 and rearrange chairs and tables. There will also be little time to record material for either show in the studio.

A source said: "Expect lots of mistakes." News at Ten with Sir Trevor McDonald and Julie Etchingham, who is leaving Sky News, is expected to return on January 14. The BBC news department was unavailable for comment.